Has anyone been to Margarita, Venezuela recentley?

Question

My sister and I have just booked up to go to Margarita, Venezuela For 2 Weeks (Nov 22nd - Dec 7th 2006) we have researched it, but are really just looking for some personal opinions about; weather this time of the year, value for money, food etc. Just anything that would give us more insight really.
Thanks

Answer 1

I'm an American who lives in Puerto la Cruz, which translate to relavance to you, I live a 2 hour ferry ride from Margarita Island, and we are going there next weekend. Around here in Venezuela the food isn't great, but it's edible (in other words don't expect amazing things, also don't mistake the spicey tex-mex food for something you will find here, Venezuela doesn't DO spicy food, unless it's Thai). Expect a lot of seafood, and rice which is all good, here in Puerto la Cruz there are lots of italian and meditarianian food. Here's an easy way to convert American $$ to Bs (Bolivars, but everyone calls them Bs sounds like Bees) take for instance I have 250,000Bs that is roughly equal to $100 US, here's how you can do a QUICK exchange in your head though take the 1000B drop the THREE 0's on the thousand so you have 1 and then divide that in half that equals .5 and that's ROUGHLY what you have in American money 1000 Bs equals 50 cents. As far as your timing.... well it's good and it's BAD, the good thing is no matter what time of year it's always about 85-90 degrees (farenheit) here, THAT time of year is the beginning of the dry season (so not a LOT of rain to mess up your beach time also it's not as humid). ALSO if you are planning on going scuba diving you are just in time to hit the end of the season (so GOOD for you). BUT here's the BAD part, that time of year is the presidencial election (first week of December) and they are expecting a LOT of political unrest, Venezuela will not really be safe (read up on Venezuelan politics to see what I'm talking about). Otherwise Venezuela is an absolutely LOVELY place to visit, you will love all the things you see (by the way I've bought several strands of pearls DIRT CHEAP from Margarita Island, they make excellent gifts, BUT haggle with the dealers never pay more than 40,000 Bs for imperfect pearls, or 60,000 for perfectly round ones). If you would like to email me to find out more about Venezuela (specifically Margarita Island) please feel free [e-mail], put Margarita Island in your subject title so I won't think your email (from someone I don't know) is spam. BY the way in case you don't email me, the bathrooms here are TERRIBLE, bring your own toilet paper, (you won't be able to flush it down the toilets, so remember to throw it away in the trash) if you can find some in the store before you leave the US buy several rolls/packages of the charmin to go, or whatever brand of toilet paper to take with you because often public restrooms run out of toilet paper, or have bad quality, don't eat the fruit unless you wash it with water and vinegar (best way to get sick is eating the fruit, or vegetables here, don't eat salads while you're here, the seafood will NOT make you sick), bring hand sanitizer EVERYWHERE you go (and baby wipes, or anti bacterial wipes to clean surfaces), if you know NO spanish, take a pocket translator with you because people down here DO NOT speak english or better yet take a crash course in spanish (they look at you like you're crazy if you ask them if they speak english, like no, why would I???) I don't speak a LOT of spanish, and they are not like the Europeans who are rumored to snub you if you don't speak their language perfectly, they are a VERY generous people (they LOVE kids) and will try very hard to work with you, if you are willing to try and speak their language. Well, I hope you enjoy your trip! Like I said Email me if you would like more information (if you haven't booked your hotel I can offer SEVERAL recommendations, or if you have you can tell me which hotel, I promise I'm no stalker, but I can tell you whether I know anyone who's stayed there and ask what they thought of it).
ALSO so you're not baffled by this when you get here, there is a Venezuelan superstition, women DO NOT put their purses on the ground (like if they are sitting and waiting somewhere, or at a restaraunt to eat), the waiters will even bring an extra chair to your table so your purse has a place off the ground, it's not a safety thing, they believe if you leave your purse on the ground your money will walk away... which is probably a god thing to do around there anyway, because muggings are common, don't carry a LOT of cash on you, be descreet when you handle your money, never go anywhere alone, and if someone starts approaching you and you are uncomfortable just GET AWAY from them quickly (usually telling people you don't speak spanish will be enough for them to leave you alone).

Answer 2

hey! as she said, not a good time to come to Venezuela, we r gonna have presidential elections, but dont worry Margarita isn't like Caracas where if anything happens u'll get some trouble..... about weather it is good, pretty hot actually all year round so no problem at all..... about money u can get lots of Bolivares for dollars, 1$ is 2150 Bs. (official exchange), but if u can find any friend here interested u can get like 2500 Bs for 1$, just be careful...... bout the city it's pretty fun, nightlife is awesome, just be careful, it is kinda dangerous, shopping is great too (free port).....food is awesome too, especially seafood.....ppl is great too, u can find really good friends there.....enjoY!

Answer 3

I hate to do this, because Venezuela is in my heart, but just one thing: The PERSONAL safety situation is bad, very bad. There are robberies, muggings, even murders round the clock. Two girls traveling alone are especially vulnerable. Don't trust anybody that you do not know.

Answer 4

can i get a ferry from puerto la cruz to margarita